1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to systems, apparatus, program code, computer readable medium, and methods for performing real-time health monitoring of valves, and more particularly, for performing real-time health monitoring of gate and other similar types of valves.
2. Description of the Related Art
A valve is a device that is configured to regulate the flow of fluids. The regulation of fluid flow is facilitated by the opening and closing of the valve. Gate valves are widely used in the oil industry for gas transportation. Typically, a gate valve includes a controlled gate that moves up or down against valve seats to permit or prevent the flow of fluid through the gate valve.
The working environment for a gate valve can be challenging due to the high pressure and temperature of fluid flow. Specifically, due to the compressive forces, the surfaces of the gates and valve seats tend to wear and tear, which may result in large actuating forces, incomplete closing of the valve, and loss of internal sealability.
Current techniques to monitor the health of a gate valve require regular service times and experienced technicians. While the valve health is being verified by the technician, the entire pipe line is typically shut down, even for maintenance of a single valve. The time required to check the valve health is often long, and the effectiveness of the check itself is dependent on the experience of the technician. In other words, current maintenance techniques incur significant costs due to the need to shut down the pipeline and to the expense of the manpower to perform the maintenance.
In the field of pipeline leak detection, acoustic sensors have been used to detect holes in the pipeline. An acoustic sensor positioned outside the pipeline can record noise of fluid within the pipeline to establish an acoustic fingerprint, and can detect a low-frequency acoustic sound created by liquid escaping through a hole in the pipe.
In the field of reciprocating compressors, and more specifically, in the field of intake and discharge valves utilized in reciprocating compressors, it has been proposed that through utilization of acoustic emission sensors and by graphically plotting vibrations as a function of crank angle, the graphs can be analyzed and compared to predetermined baseline signatures of a corresponding intake or discharge valve that is working to detect large deviations from the baseline. It has been asserted that these deviations can provide early detection of a leaking valve, valve slamming (valve tap), stiff or weak valve springs, and valve stiction.